How to use this word counter
- Paste your text into the box above, or start typing directly into it.
- Watch the counts update as you go. There is no button to press.
- Check the word count against your limit before you submit or publish.
- Use the reading and speaking estimates to judge length for a post or a talk.
- Press Clear when you are finished, or just close the tab.
What this counter reports
- Words counted the way word processors count them, by splitting on whitespace.
- Characters both with and without spaces, since limits are specified either way.
- Sentences and paragraphs, which reveal whether your writing is getting dense.
- Line count, useful for lists and structured text.
- Reading time at 225 words a minute and speaking time at 130.
- Live updating with no upload, so drafts and confidential text stay private.
Why the number matters more than people admit
Word limits are everywhere and they are rarely negotiable. University essays are marked down for overrunning. Journals reject submissions above the stated length before anyone reads them. Job applications cap the personal statement. Meta descriptions get truncated. Conference talks are given a fixed slot and finish when the slot does, whether or not you have.
Writing to a limit is also a discipline in its own right. A five-hundred-word summary forces choices that a two-thousand-word one lets you avoid, and knowing where you stand as you write is far easier than hacking a finished draft down afterwards.
Lengths worth knowing
- 50, 60 characters: a page title before search results truncate it.
- 150, 160 characters: a meta description.
- 280 characters: a post on X.
- 300, 600 words: a short blog post or a news item.
- 1,500, 2,500 words: a substantial article or guide.
- ~1,300 words: roughly ten minutes of spoken delivery.
How the counting works
Words are found by splitting on whitespace, which is the same approach word processors take. That means a hyphenated compound counts as one word, an ampersand standing alone counts as one, and a number counts as one. It also means two people using different tools will usually agree, which is the point. A count nobody else reproduces is not useful when a marker or an editor is checking.
Sentences are detected at full stops, question marks and exclamation marks followed by a space or the end of the text. Abbreviations such as "e.g." will inflate the count slightly; treat the sentence figure as a good indicator rather than an exact truth. Paragraphs are separated by blank lines, which is how almost every writing tool represents them.
Reading and speaking estimates
Reading time assumes 225 words a minute, the usual figure for an adult reading general prose on screen. Dense technical material runs slower, perhaps 150; light narrative runs faster. Treat it as an order of magnitude rather than a promise.
Speaking time uses 130 words a minute, which is a comfortable presentation pace. People consistently speak faster when nervous, so if you are timing a talk, rehearse rather than trusting the number, but a script that reads as twenty minutes will not fit a ten-minute slot no matter how you deliver it.
What to do with the result
If you are over the limit, the fastest cuts are usually redundant qualifiers and sentences that restate the previous one. The word frequency counter is surprisingly good at exposing this: a word appearing far more often than the rest is often a crutch.
Everything runs in your browser, so an unpublished manuscript, a confidential report or a job application is never uploaded anywhere. For character-level limits with a countdown, the character counter is the more precise tool.